Headsets
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So just moving away from the Bose headsets for a minute (for those of us who actually work in GA and can't afford it), the DC 13X, are they worth the money you pay for them?? And the noise reduction you get, are they comparible to the Bose headsets?
Floody
Floody
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Telex - Startus 50 D - Digital
Have been using it for about a year... and just great. Provides the best noise reduction.... they claim it's the only ANR that reduces noise in three ways.. Passive, Analog and Digital !
Needs 4 AA's to give about 20 hours.... But has a lead out with cigar jack which u can plug into anything from 8 to 24 volts.
www.telex.com
Some want about $1600 for it.... Shop around and shall obtain for $1300...... Hint : YSBK
Colleagues use the DC's and they have a lot of troubles with battery power and two of them had troubles with some strange !! noises coming out of one earpiece within the first month. Them got replaced though.
Smoothie
Have been using it for about a year... and just great. Provides the best noise reduction.... they claim it's the only ANR that reduces noise in three ways.. Passive, Analog and Digital !
Needs 4 AA's to give about 20 hours.... But has a lead out with cigar jack which u can plug into anything from 8 to 24 volts.
www.telex.com
Some want about $1600 for it.... Shop around and shall obtain for $1300...... Hint : YSBK
Colleagues use the DC's and they have a lot of troubles with battery power and two of them had troubles with some strange !! noises coming out of one earpiece within the first month. Them got replaced though.
Smoothie
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The whole issue of ANC headsets is very fully dealt with on AVweb. Anyone considering the purchase of an ANC headset should go to www.avweb.com and check all the articles and data, including the reviews by Mike Busch. Then, as suggested by Mike, attempt to try the various headsets until you find one that you can afford and are comfortable with. Most of the major makers have their products available on their own or a dealer’s stand at major air shows. Pilot supply shops should also be willing to let you try them.
Get the very best ANC headset you can afford. The Bose is probably the best but I was unable to afford $1,000. After checking the AVweb material and trying the Bose and Lightspeed products at an air show in Toronto I bought a Lightspeed 20XL and have never regretted it.
I have used the Lightspeed 20 XL for several years. When it was about two years old a problem developed with the ANC. I returned it to Lightspeed under the warranty and received a replacement. All it cost me was postage from Ontario, Canada to Oregon, USA. Lightspeed Aviation stands behind its products and there are never any hassles over warranty repairs. While awaiting the replacement I had to use my original $80 non-ANC student-type headset. What a trial! It brought home to me just how effective a good ANC headset is.
Before moving to Africa early last year I decided I should have two good ANC headsets, one being available as a reserve is case the normally used headset should develop a problem and have to be sent away for repair. I took advantage of Lightspeed’s offer of reconditioned 25XL headsets. I have used the 25XL for over a year and have been extremely happy with it. The 20XL is kept in reserve but has been used from time to time by my boss since someone “borrowed” his old non-ANC headset last August. He is also very happy with the performance and comfort of the 20XL and is somewhat reluctant to return to using his old headset which he recovered last month!
According to the AVweb material the Bose seems to rely more for its effectiveness on the ANC as against passive protection. This is fine as long as the ANC is working. The ANC does fail occasionally in any make and being human we sometimes let the batteries expire. If either of these events should happen in flight the headset can still be used and the one with better passive protection will be more effective. Another advantage for the Lightspeed headsets is that they use two AA batteries. These are the same as used in a Mini-Maglite torch and Lowrance GPS so you only have to carry a couple of spare AA batteries to cover all three products.
In addition to saving your hearing a good ANC headset will make understanding radio calls much easier. I have flown in the Caribbean as well as in Africa. The accents of controllers and local pilots are often difficult to understand. In addition, some of the radios they use are not of the best quality so their transmissions are less clear than they should be. A good ANC headset makes life a lot easier.
Buying a good ANC headset was one of the best moves I have made in my aviation career.
Get the very best ANC headset you can afford. The Bose is probably the best but I was unable to afford $1,000. After checking the AVweb material and trying the Bose and Lightspeed products at an air show in Toronto I bought a Lightspeed 20XL and have never regretted it.
I have used the Lightspeed 20 XL for several years. When it was about two years old a problem developed with the ANC. I returned it to Lightspeed under the warranty and received a replacement. All it cost me was postage from Ontario, Canada to Oregon, USA. Lightspeed Aviation stands behind its products and there are never any hassles over warranty repairs. While awaiting the replacement I had to use my original $80 non-ANC student-type headset. What a trial! It brought home to me just how effective a good ANC headset is.
Before moving to Africa early last year I decided I should have two good ANC headsets, one being available as a reserve is case the normally used headset should develop a problem and have to be sent away for repair. I took advantage of Lightspeed’s offer of reconditioned 25XL headsets. I have used the 25XL for over a year and have been extremely happy with it. The 20XL is kept in reserve but has been used from time to time by my boss since someone “borrowed” his old non-ANC headset last August. He is also very happy with the performance and comfort of the 20XL and is somewhat reluctant to return to using his old headset which he recovered last month!
According to the AVweb material the Bose seems to rely more for its effectiveness on the ANC as against passive protection. This is fine as long as the ANC is working. The ANC does fail occasionally in any make and being human we sometimes let the batteries expire. If either of these events should happen in flight the headset can still be used and the one with better passive protection will be more effective. Another advantage for the Lightspeed headsets is that they use two AA batteries. These are the same as used in a Mini-Maglite torch and Lowrance GPS so you only have to carry a couple of spare AA batteries to cover all three products.
In addition to saving your hearing a good ANC headset will make understanding radio calls much easier. I have flown in the Caribbean as well as in Africa. The accents of controllers and local pilots are often difficult to understand. In addition, some of the radios they use are not of the best quality so their transmissions are less clear than they should be. A good ANC headset makes life a lot easier.
Buying a good ANC headset was one of the best moves I have made in my aviation career.
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Floody - I tried several types and chose the DC 13X; I have had them in constant use for 2 years. They are very good in passive and active (especially in noisy piston twins), as well as having plenty of local warranty support. I can confirm the other reports of vastly improved radio comms and the ability to hear conversation-level speech in the cabin. The batteries are good for about 50hrs using new duracells rather than rechargables. I also carry a spare battery pack for those occasional in-flight failures. I wouldn't be without them - unless I could afford Bose.
Join Date: Mar 2004
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Floody, ask us about my Sennheiser's next time your on MSN. I brought the HMEC 300's nearly 2 years ago. Cost me about 1400bucks and i would NEVER go back..
Andy
Andy
Borrowed a colleagues Bose headset the other day and was blown away. I must admit it makes the engine sound a little wierd at first but you get used to it pretty quickly. Switching the ANR on and off during flight really made me realise how much bl00dy noise we're exposed to normally!
Now for a lazy couple of grand to get myself a pair
TL
Now for a lazy couple of grand to get myself a pair
TL
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Hi
im looking at buying a headset and im leaning towards the Lightspeed ANR Thirty 3G. It seems to have a whole heap of features for a reasonable price and a nice little function that switches the batteries off for you, aso the noise reduction seems huge. im just wondering if anyone had any ideas about them or would recommend anything better?
thanks
im looking at buying a headset and im leaning towards the Lightspeed ANR Thirty 3G. It seems to have a whole heap of features for a reasonable price and a nice little function that switches the batteries off for you, aso the noise reduction seems huge. im just wondering if anyone had any ideas about them or would recommend anything better?
thanks
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What's the best ANR Headset?
Does anyone have any opinions on what are the best ANR headsets to buy? Especially for use by my young grand kids. It has to be stereo and light.
I currently use the Bose Aviation Headset X (fantastic when they work) but they are abysmally fragile. Can't buy it with coiled cables hence they regularly get accidentally ripped out of the aircraft panel connector and it costs several hundred dollars to replace the cable and control module - can't just buy the one inch plug for the wall. Also, the ear cushion falls apart after 100 hours of use. There's also a silly design fault that allows the whole earcup to be twisted 360 degrees thereby damaging the wires.
Thanks.
WB
I currently use the Bose Aviation Headset X (fantastic when they work) but they are abysmally fragile. Can't buy it with coiled cables hence they regularly get accidentally ripped out of the aircraft panel connector and it costs several hundred dollars to replace the cable and control module - can't just buy the one inch plug for the wall. Also, the ear cushion falls apart after 100 hours of use. There's also a silly design fault that allows the whole earcup to be twisted 360 degrees thereby damaging the wires.
Thanks.
WB
Passion Flying Hobby Science Sponsor Work
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Headset
Best ANR headsets to buy?
Don't know the answer, but I fully agree with your statement, great headsets, but fragile. So I like to know the answer too. Had to repair myself the plugs last month, because the plastic casing broke and which resulted in intermittant false contacts. The plugs are totally wrongly designed. Had to send them in according to Bose, I could not recieve the required plastic pieces. 1000 NM away from home base, not really an option....
Perhaps Bose thinks we take a few spares with us...
delta3
Don't know the answer, but I fully agree with your statement, great headsets, but fragile. So I like to know the answer too. Had to repair myself the plugs last month, because the plastic casing broke and which resulted in intermittant false contacts. The plugs are totally wrongly designed. Had to send them in according to Bose, I could not recieve the required plastic pieces. 1000 NM away from home base, not really an option....
Perhaps Bose thinks we take a few spares with us...
delta3
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We had coiled leads on our bose sets in two SA 341/2's.
Having said that not that impressed with them (and if you are using a battery pack when it expires they don't work as passives). We had them wired in and the plugs are small fiddly and of poor design
Have just spent a week using a set of Telex 50-D again not got coiled lead but can't argue too much about the noise quality. Very easy at hearing those controllers who insist on chewing sweets while talking to you or otherwise try their best to make their transmission unreadable.
Am going to try a couple of other pairs though next week as the Telex is not one hundre percent perfect fit for me (and they are not small). Will be using the Sennheiser HMEC 400 and also the Pilot 17-79 DNC XL headset. So most expensive (bose excluded) to cheap end.
Oh and have been informed from reliable source that the lightspeed headsets are no good for regular use as they break a lot and are not built for more than very light private use...and appparantly even this can cause things to snap off.
Having said that not that impressed with them (and if you are using a battery pack when it expires they don't work as passives). We had them wired in and the plugs are small fiddly and of poor design
Have just spent a week using a set of Telex 50-D again not got coiled lead but can't argue too much about the noise quality. Very easy at hearing those controllers who insist on chewing sweets while talking to you or otherwise try their best to make their transmission unreadable.
Am going to try a couple of other pairs though next week as the Telex is not one hundre percent perfect fit for me (and they are not small). Will be using the Sennheiser HMEC 400 and also the Pilot 17-79 DNC XL headset. So most expensive (bose excluded) to cheap end.
Oh and have been informed from reliable source that the lightspeed headsets are no good for regular use as they break a lot and are not built for more than very light private use...and appparantly even this can cause things to snap off.
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The headset requirements for the R22 can get difficult, as certainly when using Peltors you have to have a special version with a bridge rectifier in it.
I would tell the supplier that you want to use them with an R22 and let them tell you which version you need. That way when they don't work as may well be the case, it is down to them to sort it out for you.
You will also need to tell them whether you need a UK Nato (bronze) or US Nato (silver) plug. Just look at the existing one to determine this.
I speak from experience!
I would tell the supplier that you want to use them with an R22 and let them tell you which version you need. That way when they don't work as may well be the case, it is down to them to sort it out for you.
You will also need to tell them whether you need a UK Nato (bronze) or US Nato (silver) plug. Just look at the existing one to determine this.
I speak from experience!
Purveyor of Egg Liqueur to Lucifer
I am considering buying a pair of Bose X for an R22. It appears that I have the choice of "low impedence" or "high impedence". Can anyone advice on which is best?
Is there really such a health risk in headsets!
SS
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I use David clarks with the Gel earpiece covers (13.4?), and been very happy with them.
I've always wondered whether, with Bose noise cancelling sets (are the 'X' noise cancelling?) any increase in noise might get cancelled out, e.g. imminent bearing failure.
With noise cancelling, is there less scope for appreciation of changes in noise characteristics which might alert the pilot to a problem?
BW
I've always wondered whether, with Bose noise cancelling sets (are the 'X' noise cancelling?) any increase in noise might get cancelled out, e.g. imminent bearing failure.
With noise cancelling, is there less scope for appreciation of changes in noise characteristics which might alert the pilot to a problem?
BW
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i would suggest you call a bose supplier i use a company at shoreham who ive found to be helpfull on more than one occasion
if i am allowed to say it
it is headset services shoreham
mod please delete if you think this is advertising
this is only a recomendation because of good service given to me
if i am allowed to say it
it is headset services shoreham
mod please delete if you think this is advertising
this is only a recomendation because of good service given to me
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Yes, I agree. I don't like noise cancelling for that reason as I prefer to continuously monitor what is going on round me as long as it's not too loud.
I normally fly my fixed wing a/c wearing headsets but the other day I did not bother to put the radio on and wear any. As a result I heard a noise which turned out to be a worn nose wheel bearing, which I would not have noticed with headsets on.
I normally fly my fixed wing a/c wearing headsets but the other day I did not bother to put the radio on and wear any. As a result I heard a noise which turned out to be a worn nose wheel bearing, which I would not have noticed with headsets on.
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Hi cholmondeley
The "normal" Bose X (high impedance) work just fine in the Robinson (I've used mine in around five R22s and one R44). If you have problems in any particular helicopter, it's probably due to an impedance mismatch between the two headsets in the helo. However the high-impedance Bose seems to play well with all DC's on most all intercoms. PS - the low-impedance is for military/NATO aircraft - the mic will not work in civilian aircraft, even if the plug is the same.
bladewashout, muffin the ANR of the Bose attacks large amplitude noises but has little effect on small ones. When I switched from DC 10.66's to the Bose, I was amazed at the additional noise detail suddenly apparent - transmission, tail-rotor, heck I can even hear the sound of the 300's clutch actuator over the engine and rotor on startup. At 70KT with both doors off I still hear the beeping voice-mail alert on my phone (oops, forgot to turn that rascal off...). With ATC, I always hear more than the dude sitting next to me in the DCs (and yellow foam plugs stuck in their ears), although it is sometimes a battle dealing with the volume turned up to earsplitting levels because THEY can't hear it. There may be ANR headsets which mask important sounds, but in my experience, not the Bose.
And Muffin, you may well hear more without a headset at all, but not for long...
The "normal" Bose X (high impedance) work just fine in the Robinson (I've used mine in around five R22s and one R44). If you have problems in any particular helicopter, it's probably due to an impedance mismatch between the two headsets in the helo. However the high-impedance Bose seems to play well with all DC's on most all intercoms. PS - the low-impedance is for military/NATO aircraft - the mic will not work in civilian aircraft, even if the plug is the same.
bladewashout, muffin the ANR of the Bose attacks large amplitude noises but has little effect on small ones. When I switched from DC 10.66's to the Bose, I was amazed at the additional noise detail suddenly apparent - transmission, tail-rotor, heck I can even hear the sound of the 300's clutch actuator over the engine and rotor on startup. At 70KT with both doors off I still hear the beeping voice-mail alert on my phone (oops, forgot to turn that rascal off...). With ATC, I always hear more than the dude sitting next to me in the DCs (and yellow foam plugs stuck in their ears), although it is sometimes a battle dealing with the volume turned up to earsplitting levels because THEY can't hear it. There may be ANR headsets which mask important sounds, but in my experience, not the Bose.
And Muffin, you may well hear more without a headset at all, but not for long...
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Bose X does not represent value for money, IMHO. The ear cushion fall apart in a year or two and replacement ear cushions are far more expensive than say, David Clark's. Until recently the wire is straight rather than spring coiled so if you lean back against the seat you can pull out the wire from the control module box. The adjustable headband has a small cushion at the top. This falls out after a few hours of use. The wind screen on the mic boom rots and falls apart after a year or two.
If you have kids using the headsets, they are not robust, ie the tripots cup can swivel 360 degrees and the wire will fall apart when this happens. However, the Bose X is very, very good when they work.
Just my experience after 7 years of use.
If you have kids using the headsets, they are not robust, ie the tripots cup can swivel 360 degrees and the wire will fall apart when this happens. However, the Bose X is very, very good when they work.
Just my experience after 7 years of use.
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I've had the Bose X (high impedance) for over two years and wouldn't trade them for anything.
Also, regarding Bose as a company: I ordered the new battery pack/cord from Bose, which now is standard on the new X's (slim, automatic battery shutoff). They couldn't fill all the orders initially and after about 6 weeks, I received a box in the mail from Bose. It was a new QuietComfort stereo entertainment headset. Now I was really mad - this is not what I ordered - until I found the note in the box that said "sorry for the delay in your order, please accept this gift as our apology" or something of that sort. They gave me a free $200 headset (with ANR) because they were slow filling my $98 order. I was forever sold on the company.
Also, regarding Bose as a company: I ordered the new battery pack/cord from Bose, which now is standard on the new X's (slim, automatic battery shutoff). They couldn't fill all the orders initially and after about 6 weeks, I received a box in the mail from Bose. It was a new QuietComfort stereo entertainment headset. Now I was really mad - this is not what I ordered - until I found the note in the box that said "sorry for the delay in your order, please accept this gift as our apology" or something of that sort. They gave me a free $200 headset (with ANR) because they were slow filling my $98 order. I was forever sold on the company.